12-Day Rwandan Safari

Overview

This twelve-day safari will take you to some of Rwanda’s most amazing destinations. Hike through Nyungwe Forest National Park and search for the elusive mountain Gorillas in Volcanoes National Park. Enjoy all that Rwanda has to offer from Kigali to Musanze!

Day 1: Kigali

You will be met and greeted by your Jewel safaris driver guide upon your arrival at Kigali International Airport. He or she will brief you on your safari before transferring you to your hotel for your overnight stay in Kigali. Relax at your hotel.

Main Destination: Kigali

Accommodation:

2000 Hotel

Mid-range hotel located in or near Kigali

Meals & Drinks:

Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)

Drinks not included

Day 2: Kigali – Nyungwe Forest National Park

After early morning breakfast, you will drive into the Nyungwe Forest. On the way you will visit Nyanza King’s Palace, the national museum of Butare, and the genocide memorial of Murambi. Nyanza was the headquarters of the ancient Rwanda Kingdom before the arrival of the Europeans. The compound features the tastefully decorated modern palace built by King Mutura in 1934.

Accommodation: Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel

Mid-range hotel located just outside Nyungwe NP, Meals & Drinks:

All meals included, Drinks not included

Day 3: Nyungwe Forest National Park, 12-Day Rwandan Safari

After breakfast, you will enter the Nyungwe Forest to track the Nyungwe Colobus monkey. A walk into the forest with our knowledgeable guides well versed in botany, ornithology, and inter species relationships will be a whole new learning experience for you. You will return to the guest house for lunch and have your overnight at the hotel.

Main Destination: Nyungwe Forest National Park (Chimps)

Accommodation: Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel

Mid-range hotel located just outside Nyungwe NP

Meals & Drinks:

All meals included

Drinks not included

Day 4: Nyungwe Forest National Park

Today will be your second day in the Nyungwe Forest. In the morning, you can either opt for the Nyungwe canopy walk or a nature walk to the waterfalls. After lunch, you will visit the Colobus monkeys darting through the trees. Your overnight stay will be at the hotel.

Main Destination: Nyungwe Forest National Park (Chimps)

Accommodation: Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel

Mid-range hotel located just outside Nyungwe NP

Meals & Drinks:

All meals included

Drinks not included

Day 5: Nyungwe – Kibuye

Early in the morning, you will head to Kibuye via Gisakura, a five-hour journey. Along the way, you will enjoy the thousands of beautiful green hills that make up our country as well as views of Kivu Lake. Your overnight stay will be at the Betania Guest House.

Main Destination: Kibuye (Town)

Accommodation: Cormoran Lodge

Mid-range lodge located inor near Karongi

Meals & Drinks:

All meals included

Drinks not included

Day 6: Kibuye – Gisenyi

Today you will transfer to Gisenyi by speed boat or vehicle (the choice is yours). Along the way, you will explore the wonderful views of the different islands along Lake Kivu and some of the Congolese hills. Your overnight stay will be at the hotel.

Main Destination:

Gisenyi (City)

Accommodation: Lake Kivu Serena Hotel

Luxury hotel located in or near Rubavu

Meals & Drinks:

All meals included

Drinks not included

Day 7: Gisenyi

You will spend part of the day relaxing and swimming at Kivu Serena Beach. After breakfast and your time at the beach, you will drive to Musanze, the base town for visiting mountain gorillas. Enjoy a visit to the Ibyiwacu cultural village and then overnight at the Hotel.

Main Destination:

Musanze (City)

Accommodation: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel

Mid-range lodge located in or near Musanze Meals & Drinks:

All meals included

Drinks not included

Day 8: Volcanoes National Park

Early in the morning after breakfast, you will be transferred to Volcanoes National Park for your first gorilla trek. You will arrive at the main office at 7:00 am for a short briefing and coffee break before going on your trek. Your overnight stay will be at the hotel.

Accommodation: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel

Mid-range lodge located just outside Volcanoes NP

Meals & Drinks:

All meals included

Drinks not included

Day 9: Musanze

Today you will visit the golden monkeys in Volcanoes National Park. You will again have to be at the main office at 7:00 am for a short briefing before your trek. Return at lunchtime and then go visit the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo. Your overnight stay will be at the hotel.

Main Destination:

Musanze (City)

Accommodation: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel

Mid-range lodge located in or near Musanze

Meals & Drinks:

All meals included

Drinks not included

Day 10: Musanze – Akagera National Park 

In the morning after breakfast, you will be transferred to Akagera National Park via Kigali. Here you will have lunch before driving into Akagera National Park. You will cruise to Lake Ihema in the afternoon and then go bird watching in Akagera. Your overnight stay will be at the lodge.

Accommodation: Mantis Akagera Game Lodge

Mid-range lodge located inside Akagera NP

View from the lodge

Meals & Drinks:

Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)

Drinks not included

Day 11: Akagera National Park – Kigali

After breakfast, you will go on a game drive in the park. Akagera National Park is located in Eastern Rwanda on the border with Tanzania. African Parks is currently managing this park and has done a great job with the conservation. In the past, there were lots of conflicts between people and the park but this was solved by fencing off part of the park and the introduction of community tours where visitors are encouraged to visit the communities and benefit accordingly. Akagera National Park is the only Savannah park in Rwanda and is home to several mammal species. These include lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos, Kobs, zebras, bush bucks, water bucks and most recently black rhinos have been introduced from South Africa. This makes Akagera National Park officially a Big Five park like it was many years ago. It is also home to numerous bird species in several habitats which include woodland, swamps, lakes and Savannah.

Main Destination: Kigali

Accommodation: 2000 Hotel

Mid-range hotel located in or near Kigali

Meals & Drinks:

Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)

Drinks not included

Day 12: Kigali

After breakfast, and depending on your departure flight, you may go on a complimentary visit to the Ntarama Church. This was the site where more than 5,000 were killed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. This genocide memorial is located 30km south of Kigali in the Bugasera region. This church and its contents are a reminder of the horrifying violence that took place. Learn more about the unity and reconciliation commission while you are here.

Main Destination:

Kigali Genocide Memorial (Kigali)

Accommodation: No accommodation (End of tour)

Meals & Drinks:

Lunch (Breakfast & dinner not included)

Drinks not included

End of tour (See Getting There for more details)

Additional accommodation can be arranged for an extra cost.

You’ll be dropped off at the airport.

Book Now

Package includes:

  • Transport: vehicle, fuel, and  driver
  • Gorilla permit
  • Full board accommodation for the
  • Entrance fees.
  • All activities.
  • Bottled drinking water

Package excludes:

  • Visas
  • Air ticket
  • Personal expenses.
  • Cost for anything that is not mentioned in the itinerary.

We use 4×4 safari cars for our safaris and therefore every traveler is guaranteed a window seat, bellow are photos of the cars.

EXCELLENT
69 reviews on
Tony M
Tony M
2024-01-08
Jewel Safaris has a jewel in a female driver, Rachel My trip to Lake Mburo National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park on 5th Jan 2024, could not have gone better. My great experience was all down to Jewel Safaris' professionalism and industry experience. The car arrived at my house on time (5 am) to pick me up for the trip. The tour guide driver, a lady named Rachel Aheebwa, was such a delight. Female tour guides drivers are so rare, so this was unexpected. But looking back at how much of a success my tour went, Rachel was the best part of the trip. Two hours into the drive, she suggested a breakfast place that turned out to serve the best coffee I'd ever taken. The small eatery happened to be ran by a lady with tourism experience of 17 years. We set off for Lake Mburo about an hour later and arrived at the park gate three hours later. Because we planned to sleep in Queen Elizabeth National Park and we still had hundreds of kilometers to cover, she made sure we wasted no time Mburo. She was always friendly and firm in her advice when it came to time keeping. We made it to our final destination before dark and had time to rest. Before going to bed, she told me, firmly that we must leave at 7 if we are to see all the animals we wanted to see. I would have loved to sleep in but she made it clear that this was not an option. I was later thankful for this. There were several tourist vehicles at the UWA offices when we arrived. After payments, all the cars left through a Northwards track but Rachel went Eastwards and in less than thirty minutes of Game driving, we hit a jack pot. We found lions on the road and I was able to take close up pictures for several minutes as she made calls to all her friends letting them know that she had found lions. By the time all the vehicles crowded around the lions, I had spend over half an an hour with them. One of the best moments of my life. Jewel safaris couldn't have chosen a better tour guide driver for me. Every thing was well planned to help me see all there was to be seen.
TimmyHensel
TimmyHensel
2023-08-10
Murchison Falls Adventure This was my first safari adventure and it was a trip of a lifetime. The owner, Dona was very professional and helpful and made sure he understood what we wanted. The vehicle was wonderful and roomy and well kept. Our guide, Patrick made the trip exceptional. He knew the park, he knew the animals and he was a former ranger who spent years protecting the animals of that park. It was clear that the other guides respected him and Patrick was kind, funny and made sure we had a wonderful adventure. The first night, the owner called me to ask how everything was going and he messaged me after the trip to make sure we had a great time. That was above and beyond what I expected. Great company, great customer service and fantastic guide with years of experience. This is the company I would choose over and over.
pablo
pablo
2023-08-09
Great safari!!!! Fantastic. The owner went out of the way to make sure we had what we wanted. I highly recommend Patrick as guide and driver. He loves what he does and you can tell.
Simon T
Simon T
2023-08-07
Two-day trip to Lake Mburo Our two-day trip to Lake Mburo with our driver and guide Patrick was great. He delivered what we asked for, and more! Other than being a very kind person and good driver, Patrick was able to share a lot of information about the different animals and places we encountered. A big thanks to Jewel Safaris and Patrick! 100% Recommend!
Sander T
Sander T
2023-08-07
2 days Safari to Lake Mburo We had a blast of a weekend with Patrick from Jewel Safari's. He knew so much about the animals, was so friendly and flexible to arrange it the way we wanted. I would advice to go on a Safari with him!
George H
George H
2023-05-31
Uganda 2023 We had the great pleasure of having Patrick from jewel safaris for a week in Uganda. Hugely informative and fun, Patrick is a perfect ambassador for a fun, beautiful and dramatic country which is Uganda. A fabulous tour by a class guide. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting most of Africa and Uganda is top. Will go back
astrid H
astrid H
2023-05-31
Incredible experience Amazing service and amazing country and people. It was an incredible trip, I can’t fault anything. We all enjoyed it so much and our guide was so attentive and catered to what we wanted to do
goran52
goran52
2022-11-30
Utmärkt service, bra bil och kunnig guide. Jewel Safaris arrangerade vår resa till Uganda, med bland annat gorillorna i Bwindi. Vi var även i nationalparken där schimpanserna finns. Jewel Safaris har lång erfarenhet av att anordna safaris i Uganda. Goran
K F
K F
2022-11-29
good service We had a great trip with Jewel Safari and would definitely recommend to book trips with Jewel Safari.
Ola Karlsson
Ola Karlsson
2022-11-10
Great agency We ordered the trip in 2019 to go to Uganda in April 2020. Then Covid came and the trip was postponed for 2,5 yrs and in the meantime we kept contact and When we finally could go it all went super-smooth. Well organized and very friendly personnel and a fantastic guide. Nothing went wrong during the 10 days we visited and the arrangements were spotless.

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